Time Is Running Out to Salvage the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Sarah Abed

This week, Iran’s atomic energy authority confirmed it would commence enriching uranium past the 3.67 percent cap to 5 percent at its Fordow plant starting Wednesday. This is Tehran’s fourth step in scaling back its commitments under the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in response to the US’s unilateral withdrawal last year, and consequently imposing crippling sanctions, as well as Europe’s inability to offer relief, as was promised.

Tehran plans on continuing to scale back its commitments every sixty days till the United States returns to the deal or European nations can provide adequate sanctions relief. Iranian officials have stated that these steps are entirely reversible. The United States loves to harp on these symbolic moves meant to pressure the United States into returning to the JCPOA, as being grave steps in the wrong direction, when ultimately the first and most serious offense was taken by the Trump administration when they withdrew and started to impose sanctions on Iran.

Although the European members that are part of the deal are still committed to its implementation and have suggested measures to help ease suffering under the sanctions, not enough is being done to pressure the United States into lifting sanctions which is Iran’s requirement prior to negotiations.

The JCPOA is flawed in its inadequate dispute settlement process, when a party leaves the deal (as did the United States) Iran’s only option is to return to the pre-deal situation. Hoping that a better solution would present itself Iran stayed in compliance for an entire year after President Trump unilaterally withdrew.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his usual hysterical manner is accusing Iran of preparing for a “rapid nuclear breakout”. Completely dismissing how and why we got to his point. The United States set the stage for this downhill escalation by withdrawing from the multinational deal and applying crippling sanctions made to destroy the country’s oil industry and reduce exports to zero.

What did the Trump administration expect to happen by making conditions unbearable, and by trying to collapse Iran’s economy, government, and society and unsuccessfully force “regime change”? Brutal compounded sanctions have been affecting the most vulnerable members of society, with even food and medicine feeling the harsh effects of Washington’s “maximum pressure campaign”.

With tensions high and frustration looming, each scale back raises concern that the European signatories might see it as crossing the red line and therefore killing the deal, which only the United States is in favor of.

President Trump recently signed sanctions waivers for China and Russia and Europe to continue to assist Iran in its peaceful nuclear development. These periodic waivers grant exemptions from US sanctions against Iran and allow foreign companies to collaborate on civilian nuclear programs with Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. Some believe that this might be a sign that President Trump wants to negotiate a deal with Iran, which he certainly can, if he lifts sanctions first.

On Thursday, Iran claimed that an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector was prohibited from entering the Natanz facility after a detector for explosive nitrates went off. While officials were looking for a female to search her, the inspector went into the bathroom and when she returned, she no longer tested positive, sparking concerns of foul play.

US Waterboards Iran and Then Asks for Talks: Former IAEA Head

In response to failure by European signatories (Britain, France, and Germany) to fulfill their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and countering crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, some influential Iranian figures are advocating for Iran’s departure from NPT. They are stating that these nations have failed to establish an adequate financial structure to enable companies to trade with Iran while US imposes harsh sanctions.

There’s a difference of opinion between Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian figures about whether Iran should remain in the NPT. President Rouhani and the government of Iran are of the opinion that it would not be in Iran’s best interest to withdrawal whereas others say that Iran is not benefiting from its membership in the NPT and point out that India, Pakistan, and Israel are not part of the NPT and North Korea is continuing on a path of acquiring a nuclear arsenal.

It’s worth mentioning that Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a fatwa or religious order against the country having nuclear weapons. Iranian figures have also stated numerous times that it is not Iran’s intentions to develop nuclear weapons. Little trust or interest remains in having dialogue with the United States, especially with the open hostility that’s become the norm in Washington towards Iran.

Europe and specifically France has proposed options to help with sanctions relief such as a $15 billion dollar line of credit and INSTEX but neither has been implemented. INSTEX was set up as a payment channel by the UK, Germany and France to help Iran continue to trade and circumvent US sanctions. Without proper implantation, Iran will be taking its fifth step away from the JCPOA commitments, and this is all meant to pressure these nations to resolve the current situation. Each measure that Iran takes is calculated and reversible, but of course with each step comes the risk that other members will follow the US’s move and withdrawal from the deal.

The decision to inject uranium gas into centrifuges in the underground Fordow facility along with the previous three steps taken by Iran are meant as a wakeup call to the signatories. Iran can’t be expected to unilaterally fulfill its obligations while other parties renege on theirs. By taking these measures Iran hopes to send a strong and serious message that all other parties must come back to the deal, before it’s too late.

*Sarah Abed is an independent journalist and political commentator. Focused on exposing the lies and propaganda in mainstream media news, as it relates to domestic and foreign policy with an emphasis on the Middle East. Contributed to various radio shows, news publications and spoken at forums. 

Trump’s Plan to Pillage Syrian Oil, Blatant Violation of International Law

By Sarah Abed

Exactly two weeks after announcing a thousand US troops would be withdrawn from northeastern Syria with a portion relocated to Syria’s Jordanian and Israeli borders and others sent to Iraq, US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday plans to keep US soldiers in Syria to “secure” oil fields. President Trump even mentioned that he intended to make a deal with ExxonMobil or another company to go in there and do it “properly”, that the goal would be to “spread the wealth” from “massive amounts of oil”. With 500 US troops, Trump also said if need be, they would fight for the oil.

It’s truly amazing that the leader of a superpower would be so honest and transparent about his overly arrogant and entirely illegal aspirations to pillage and plunder a sovereign foreign nation. Publicly stating in advance and with abundant clarity, the violations he is prepared to commit on the world stage.

There no longer exists a need for Washington’s intentions to be hidden under a cloak of morality by claiming that their actions are intended to protect their nation’s security by allegedly fighting terrorism. Or that its “heroic” ambitions are to spread democracy and liberty for all, one bomb at a time. Or that their purely humanitarian motivations to save babies from being thrown out of incubators or kitten sanctuaries by being barrel bombed by ruthless dictators are entirely warranted and that these threats do in fact exist. There’s no need to continue using these fabricated recycled pretexts because by now the vast majority of people understand that fairytales have more truth to them.

People are waking up to the fact that the most rampant of war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed by the most powerful nations including the United States, France, Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, and other members of the UN and NATO. For many decades vulnerable nations have been attacked so that larger and more powerful nations can grow and thrive.

Make no mistake, Pirate Trump wants to seize, pillage, and outright steal a sovereign nation’s oil, just two weeks after clearly stating he was ready for the majority of US troops to leave Syria. At that point he had wanted the nations in the region to work out their own problems and no longer have the US acting as the “world police” he wanted to stop the hemorrhaging of funds to the tune of over eight trillions of dollars which has been spent on endless wars in the Middle East.

US Troops Are Staying in Syria to ‘Keep the Oil’ – and Have Already Killed Hundreds Over It

Trump seemed entirely uninterested in getting involved in any further confrontations between the Kurdish militias and NATO ally Turkey in northeastern Syria. Trump was even approving of the Turkish-Russian agreement which was negotiated on the same day that the 120-hour ceasefire ended between the Kurdish militias and Turkish forces. So much so that he took all the credit for de-escalating the situation and supposedly saving the lives of Kurds. Trump even lifted sanctions on Turkey after they discontinued their “Operation Peace Spring”, the third cross border military operation to push back Kurdish militias from their borders in as many years.

Trump’s honesty in this case is refreshing especially after dealing with Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama who used his charisma to sell war to the masses. Here’s a guy that didn’t let a single day go by where he wasn’t bombing at least a few out of the seven countries he ended up destroying during his eight years in office, and yet he was and continues to be praised like he’s some sort of saint, totally neglecting all the death and destruction that he is responsible for.

Trump hasn’t necessarily started any new wars, war hawks around him pushed for “regime change” in Venezuela and Iran and were pushing for war with North Korea, but thankfully nothing came to fruition, unfortunately he is still bombing five of the seven nations.

Why does Trump want Syria’s oil? Trump thinks there was a missed opportunity in Iraq, and that previous administrations were foolish for not “taking the oil” after bombing third world countries back to the stone age. One has to wonder whether he understands the legal ramifications of his actions, were they explained to him? Was a plan even drawn out or was he given advice that could land him in hot water?

Another reason for this newfound obsession with controlling or “securing” Syrian oil fields is that the Kurdish militias and in turn Israel would benefit. Kurdish militias in both Iraq and Syria have been selling oil to Israel for cheap for years, in addition to sharing intelligence.

Before Trump continues to violate international laws, treaties, Geneva conventions and even the very same military authorization from Congress that was used to enter Syria, by trying to expropriate Syrian oil by pillaging it, it might be a good idea for him to understand that Syria’s oil isn’t the vast amounts he envisions, it’s barely enough to help get the country back in order.

During the war production significantly decreased and is barely enough to run the country. The US has absolutely no right to be let alone take any of Syria’s oil. If anything, the US should offer to repair, at no cost, the oil fields it has destroyed with its illegal airstrikes.

The excuse that the US is protecting the oil fields from ISIS is also bogus. Especially since Trump claims he has destroyed 100% of their territorial caliphate and just killed their leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, which is still debatable since we have nothing to go off other than Trump’s words.

When deciding between a military confrontation to restore rightful ownership of the oil fields currently occupied by US and Kurdish forces and fomenting a united resistance front by restoring patriotism to counter aggressors and occupiers, the Syrian state prefers the latter.

*Sarah Abed is an independent journalist and political commentator. Focused on exposing the lies and propaganda in mainstream media news, as it relates to domestic and foreign policy with an emphasis on the Middle East. Contributed to various radio shows, news publications and spoken at forums. 

Sarah Abed: US Aims for Long Term Presence in Syria to Check Iran and Ensure Israeli Domination

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian journalist Sarah Abed says that United States seeks to have a long term presence in Syria and the region to keep an eye on Iran and guard their number one ally in the region which is the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv.

Sarah Abed, in an exclusive interview with FNA, said that establishing an independent Kurdish state in Syria is just part of the decades-long Israeli-American plan to weaken and divide all the nations neighboring Israel.

The journalist also added that the presence of the Turkish forces in Syria is seen as illegal and just like other uninvited foreign fighters in violation of the UN Charters and international law.

Sarah Abed is an independent journalist and political commentator, covering a broad range of issues relating to the Syrian war, Kurdish issues in Iraq and Syria, as well as US policy in the Middle East. She has been interviewed by international media outlets such as Press TV, FOX News 1450 and Radio Sputnik.

FNA has conducted an interview with Sarah Abed about the ongoing crisis in Syria and the recent developments surrounding the issue namely the missile strikes on the Arab country by the US and its allies and also the American plan for an independent Kurdish state on Syrian soil.

Below you will find the full text of the interview.

Q: Multiple places in Syria came under attack by the United States and its allies, namely Britain and France, based on a video footage of an alleged gas attack in Syria’s Douma released by the White Helmets. Who are the White Helmets? How can their unverified video be presented as justification for a large scale attack on Syria?

A: The White Helmets also known as Syria Civil Defense claim to be a “humanitarian organization". The White Helmets won an Oscar for best documentary and were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. According to their Twitter account they claim that they are “3,922 volunteer search and rescue workers from local communities who risk their lives to save others and bring hope”. They also state that they have “saved +104,933 lives”.

The reality on the ground however is an entirely different story. They hijacked the name “Syria Civil Defense". The White Helmets were created with the assistance of Western intelligence by former British Army officer and mercenary James Le Mesurier. Their main goal initially was the ousting of President Assad, through the use of propaganda against the Syrian government and army. They have acted out fake rescue operations and even staged chemical weapon attacks in order to gain financial and emotional support from governments and well-meaning but unfortunately uninformed western spectators.

These fabrications have been used as pretexts for foreign military and political aggression against the Syrian state. Most recently The White Helmets have been described by locals as actors, who produce and film fabrications in order to get funding from a number of NATO members mainly the US and UK.

Although they claim to be an impartial non-governmental “NGO” made up of volunteers, each member is paid $1,500 a month, an amount that is drastically higher than the average monthly Syrian salary. They have received millions of dollars of funding from the US and UK. All while committing a myriad of atrocities including killing not only Syrian soldiers and captives, but innocent women and children as well. They have been thoroughly exposed by independent journalists as well as the Russian and Syrian government for their crimes. Most recently the Douma incident has shed light on the extent to which this group will go to fabricate an incident in order to evoke a military response from the United States.

An earlier example is the liberation of Aleppo which took place late 2016 by the Syrian Arab Army and their allies. Civilians revealed that they had only heard of the white helmets on TV or in publications. Others stated that The White Helmets were only concerned with “rescuing” terrorist sympathizers. It comes as no surprise that they shared buildings with terrorist factions. They also were hoarding food, medical supplies, and aid that were meant for the locals. Recently Washington has suspended their funding and put the group under “active review”. This affects ⅓ of their funding. It’s interesting to note that these supposed “volunteers” only operate in areas where terrorists reside and they leave with the terrorists when they relocate to other areas in the country when the Syrian Arab Army and their allies liberate the areas.

It’s ridiculous that the US/UK/France used a fabricated video presented to them by The White Helmets to strike targets in Syria last month. A completely unjustified and illegal action, that destroyed research centers that did not house chemical weapons as these countries alleged. Citizens have reported that no such chemical weapons attack took place in Douma.

Eyewitnesses were flown to The Hague and gave their testimonies which matched that of other civilians that were interviewed by reporters in Douma. They stated that not only did The White Helmets create a chaotic event and filmed it, but that none of the patients showed signs of chemical weapon poisoning. The fact that the US acted as judge, jury and executioner, as I had stated on an interview with Radio Sputnik, is disturbing. The day before the OPCW investigators were scheduled to arrive in Syria, the US along with the UK and France took matters into their own hands. This irrational action has now been proven to be illegitimate and hasty.

Q: We have seen the Israeli regime and the so-called US-led coalition targeting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allied forces many times. What do you think is the reason for such moves?

A: Whenever the SAA and its allies make significant on-the-ground progress, Israel and the US-led coalition take actions to hinder their progress. They have on multiple occasions directly hit SAA military bases which in turn benefits terrorist organizations including Daesh. These airstrikes are illegal and illegitimate provocations meant to stir a reaction from Syria, Russia, Iran, or Hezbollah in hopes that they would respond with military action. Israel can then use any defensive response and claim that it was an offensive strike and then retaliate based on the notion of self defense, even though they are the agitators in this scenario. It’s important to note that although they might temporarily delay advancements made by the SAA and their allies, they do not have long lasting results and will not impact the ultimate goal of liberating every inch of the country which would then set the stage for peace to return to Syrian state which has been aggressively attacked by foreign nations and foreign backed terrorists for over seven years in this western imposed insurrection and attempt at ‘regime change”.

Q: Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, Saudi Arabia has been actively supporting terrorists in the country. These terrorists are now losing ground every day. What do you think would be the implications of such failure for the Saudi foreign policy?

A: Indeed they have supported terrorist factions, and these groups have gone through a number of costume changes and rebranding. KSA has gotten a generally abysmal return on their investment, but will this change their policies as a matter of course? The members of the House of Saud are closely aligned with the United States and Israel against their own Arab brothers and sisters in the Middle East. They have been raining bombs and killing civilians in Yemen for the past 3 years while supporting terrorist factions in Syria. To think that they might lose interest or back away from either of these battlefields is to underestimate their ambitions and greed. Although their arrogance will most likely prevent them from retreating anytime soon it will be interesting to see where they funnel their support once their terrorist factions have been defeated.

Q: The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have received tremendous amount of arms and support from the United States, initially with the stated aim to fight Daesh (ISIL or ISIS). But apparently, the US is now preparing the ground to establish an independent Kurdish state in Syria. What do you think the US is seeking to achieve by disintegrating Syria?

A: Since the US invasion of Iraq and the ongoing conflict in Syria, Kurdish militias have been romanticized by the media and US politicians alike to justify a Western interventionist narrative in those countries. The People’s Protection Unit (YPG) is a Kurdish-majority militia which is the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish democratic confederalist political party in northeastern Syria. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is an organization based in Turkey and Iraq that has been engaged in armed conflicts with the Turkish state since 1984.

The plan to weaken and divide not only Syria but other nations surrounding Israel has been in the works for decades by the United States. By establishing a Kurdish state in Syria the United States hopes to have a long term presence in the area. This benefits the US by allowing them to keep a watchful eye on Iran while also protecting their number one ally in the region Israel. In Oded Yinon’s “Plan for a Greater Israel” in 1982 it states the imperative use of Kurds to help divide neighboring countries in order to aid in their plans for greater domination. The United States has established over 10 military bases in the north eastern portion of the country, which also happens to be the most oil and agriculturally rich region. The United States and its allies underestimated not only the determination of the Syrian Arab Army and their allies but the resilience of the Syrian people as a whole. Syrians will stop at nothing to keep their nation united and any attempts to divide and weaken their sovereign state will be countered with a powerful response.

Q: The US announcement on its plans to recognize a Kurdish state in Syria has seemingly provoked Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas. What are Turkey’s objectives in its military intervention and how do you think this recent development would affect the process of reaching peace in Syria?

A: Turkey has seen the accumulation of Kurdish armed factions on its border as a threat to its national security. It has looked at the relationship between the United States and Kurdish militias very unfavorably and Erdogan has personally stated his discontent with this alliance. Turkey’s plans were to return Syrian refugees on the Turkish border back to Afrin and they had stated that they do not plan on staying in Syria long term. Syrian officials see Turkish forces as an illegal presence and just like other uninvited foreign fighters they are violating UN Charters and international law and must withdraw their forces from Syrian territory. They are yet another hurdle in liberating the entire country of all illegal, illegitimate, and uninvited armed invaders. In due time, just like their American and NATO counterparts, they will be dealt with by the Syrian Arab Army and government.